***** stars to have this rare footage of this extraordinary groundbreaking performer, performing in a era where minstrel shows were still the way black Americans entered the entertainment industry.
** star for material he had to work with in this footage - but that was what white audiences wanted to see. He was a song and dance man and this was the silent era. Be thankful he was so popular someone decided to record him on film.
At
19:29 is where Bert Williams performs his famous pantomime poker sketch. Best part of this film. Wish they had let him do more of his own material.
In an era when racial inequality and stereotyping were an accepted part of life, he became the first black American to take a lead role on the Broadway stage, and did much to push back racial barriers during his career. Fellow vaudevillian W.C. Fields, who appeared in productions with Williams, described him as "the funniest man I ever saw – and the saddest man I ever knew." Williams was part of the duo song & dance act of "Williams and Walker". His most famous song was "Nobody".
In 1910 he received an unprecedented offer to join Flo Ziegfeld's Follies, becoming its first featured black performer in an all-white show. Several cast members delivered an ultimatum to Ziegfeld that Williams be fired or they would leave. Ziegfeld held firm, saying, "I can replace every one of you, except [Williams]."
Williams also had an exclusive contract with Columbia Records. The wording of Columbia's promotion dropped much of the previous "coon harmony"-type sales patter and touted Williams' "inimitable art" and "direct appeal to the intelligence." Tim Brooks (who gathered information on every Columbia Records recording from 1910-1934) wrote, "Williams had become a star who transcended race, to the extent that was possible in 1910." HOPE WE FIND A RECORDING OF "NOBODY" IN THE ARCHIVE SOON.
For those researching the West Indian contribution to American culture - Mr. Williams was born in Sweetes, Antigua.